Posted on by Staff Report

Framed, autographed photo of father left anonymously

Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that he was "grateful" for a gift from a fan Sunday at Michigan International Speedway — even if he doesn’t know who left it.

The classic photo of father Dale Earnhardt in front of his Wrangler-schemed car even came with an autograph. Quite a gift for Junior, who is still represented by the jeans company.

It was nice timing, too, considering the Earnhardt image was promoting the 1982 Southern 500. Current drivers have been revealing their own throwback schemes in anticipation of this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, which returns to the Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway.

MORE: Buy tickets for this year’s Darlington race

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid

With only three races left until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs, it’s time to check up on Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, as he tries to rebound from missing 11 races to early season injuries and make the Chase. He is currently the only driver with multiple wins who has yet to mathematically clinch a spot in the Chase. 

WHAT JUST HAPPENED: After a spin and ensuing rough-and-tumble ride through the infield grass in Saturday practice, Busch started his backup No. 18 at the back of the pack in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. His wisest move may have come before the race was even a lap old as he lagged behind at the start, leaving him well clear of David Ragan‘s Turn 2 spin. From the back, he rallied to an 11th-place finish, his best result in his last five races at Michigan International Speedway.

WHAT HE NEEDS: Merely to avoid trouble and stay among the top 30. Busch, who cracked the threshold last week at Watkins Glen, gained a spot to move to 29th in the Sprint Cup driver standings, 18 points ahead of 30th-place Justin Allgaier and 23 points clear of 31st-place Cole Whitt. Should the four-time winner this year remain among the top 30, he’ll complete that requirement for postseason eligibility.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Sprint Cup circuit makes its second stop of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s annual Irwin Tools Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM). Though the high-speed short track is often fraught with potential pitfalls, Busch has had a great share of Bristol successes with five wins in 20 Sprint Cup starts on the .533-mile oval, tying him for the most among active drivers. On the flip side, his last four finishes in Bristol’s August race under the lights have been outside the top five.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch the press conference here on Tuesday

 

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Danica Patrick will have a press conference at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the team announced Sunday in a press release.

 

The event will also be live streamed on NASCAR.com. See the link above to bookmark the location.

On Monday, Danica offered a sneak peek at a paint scheme on Twitter.

 

Through 23 races this season, Patrick has two top-10s in her No. 10 Chevrolet. Earlier this year, she earned her sixth career top-10 finish, the most by a female driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.

RELATED: Learn more about Danica’s SHR team

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will all race at Bristol Motor Speedway this week. Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series practices, qualifying sessions and races can all be watched on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. All events for the Camping World Truck Series can be found on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. Check out the full schedule below. 

 

 
 

 

All times are ET

SATURDAY, AUG. 22:

— 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race (500 laps, 266.5 miles), NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
— 5:30 p.m.: NSCS Driver/Crew Chief Meeting
— 5:45 p.m.: Concert – Steven Tyler 
— 6:20 p.m.: USMC Silent Drill Platoon 
— 6:26 p.m.: Battle at Bristol Video
— 6:28 p.m.: University of Tennessee’s “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band — “Rocky Top” 
— 6:33 p.m.: Virginia Tech University Marching Band — Virginia Tech “Tech Triumph”
— 6:46 p.m.: Intro Honorary Starter: Dave Ramsey, NY Times Best Selling Author and Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
— 6:46:30 p.m.: Intro Grand Marshal: O. Bruton Smith, Executive Chairman, Speedway Motorsports Inc and 2016 NASCAR HOF Inductee
— 6:50 p.m.: NSCS Driver Introductions
— 7:26 p.m.: God Bless USA by Lee Greenwood audio track Skydivers (2) w/ American Flag jump (landing on backstretch) (Military service members will walk down grandstand portals and remain in place throughout National Anthem.) American Flags and Stars displayed between turns 1-2 and turns 3-4. American Flag unfurled by Cherokee High School JROTC on frontstretch near turn 4
— 7:30 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: USMC Honor Guard
— 7:30:20 p.m.: Pledge of Allegiance by: Staff Sgt. Robert Potter, USMC
— 7:30:50 p.m.: Invocationby: Dr. Raleigh Washington, President and CEO of Promise Keepers
— 7:31:30 p.m.: National Anthem by: MRO Children 
— 7:33 p.m.: Fly-by TOT:  4 – F-18’s Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 from Beaufort, SC (Turn 3 to 1)
— 7:40 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: TBD 
— 7:45:30 p.m.: Start of the Irwin Tools Night Race (500 laps, 266.5 miles) 

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10:45 p.m.: Post-NSCS race press conferences

 

TUESDAY, AUG. 18:

— 2-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (Results)

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 19:

— 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Results)
— 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 2 (Results)
— 6:15 p.m.: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Bush’s Beans 150 (150 laps, 79.95 miles)
— 8:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by ZLOOP (200 laps, 106.6 miles), FOX Sports 1 (Results)

FRIDAY, AUG. 21:

— 9-11:25 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)
— 1:30-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)
— 3:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)
— 5:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)
— 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 (300 laps, 159.9 miles), NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 1 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

 

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10:15 a.m.: AJ Allmendinger
— 10:30 a.m.: Matt Kenseth
— 10:45 a.m.: Clint Bowyer and Rob Kauffman
— 11 a.m.: Charlotte Motor Speedway with artist Sam Bass
— 1 p.m.: Elliott Sadler
— 3:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
— 6:45 p.m.: Post-NSCS qualifying press conference
— 9:45 p.m.: Post-NXS race press conference

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule | NBC Sports Live Extra


All times ET


Monday, August 17
6 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
Noon, NASCAR 120, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
8 p.m., Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge: Road America (tape), FOX Sports 1
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Tuesday, August 18
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Careers for Veterans 200 Presented by Cooper Standard and Brad Keselowski‘s Checkered Flag Foundation (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Wednesday, August 19
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
10 a.m., Being: Stewart-Haas Racing (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., Uncompromising: Kevin Harvick (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4:45 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 2
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
8 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup, FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by ZLOOP, FOX Sports 1
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Thursday, August 20
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
9 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by ZLOOP (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series East: Motordrome Speedway (tape), NBCSN
11 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series East: Motordrome Speedway (re-air), NBCSN
1:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special (re-air), NBCSN
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Friday, August 21
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
9:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
1 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
2:30 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series West: Evergreen Speedway (tape), NBCSN
3:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300, NBCSN

Saturday, August 22
4 p.m., The 10: Greatest Bristol Moments, FOX Sports 2
4:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Bristol, FOX Sports 2
4:30 p.m., NASCAR K&N Series West: Evergreen (re-air), NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America Saturday, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Countdown to Green, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race, NBCSN
11 p.m., NASCAR Post-Race Show, NBCSN
Midnight, NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane (re-air), FOX Sports 1

Sunday, August 23
1 p.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Virginia International Raceway, FOX Sports 1
11 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings | SHOP: Kenseth gear

BROOKLYN, Mich. — From Matt Kenseth‘s point of view, the competition package NASCAR used at Michigan International Speedway could well have had a big, bright bow on it.

The Coors Light Pole-sitter for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Kenseth quickly exhibited his mastery of the high-drag aerodynamic package, leading 146 of 200 laps in winning for the third time this season, the third time at Michigan and the 34th time in his career.

The 2003 premier series champion had to survive a restart with 13 laps left, after Jimmie Johnson spun off Turn 4 to cause the eighth and final caution of the race. With a push from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, Kenseth cleared Kevin Harvick after the Lap 187 restart and went on to win by 1.722 seconds.

“Denny did a spectacular job pushing me,” Kenseth said of the last run. “From the restart zone to about Turn 2 was like a superspeedway race — whoever got locked up — and those Chevys could really hook up.

“Denny did a heck of a job giving me a good push there to get by. Honestly, the toughest one was with the 3 (Dillon, with the two drivers swapping the lead after a restart on Lap 131). We went back and forth a few times and made some contact there, and it was hard to get away from him. My car took about five laps to get going, but once it got going, it was pretty stellar.”

Harvick ran out of fuel under green on Lap 114 but recovered to finish second. Martin Truex Jr. ran third, followed by Austin Dillon (who started from the rear of the field after an engine change) and Hamlin.

Kenseth’s victory was the fifth for Joe Gibbs Racing in the last six Sprint Cup races but Kenseth stopped short of declaring the JGR cars the favorites for the series championship this year. There are three regular-season races left before the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs start at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 20.

“It’s early to talk favorites — there’s so much racing to do, and there are 16 teams (in the Chase) that are capable of winning races on a weekly basis as well as a championship,” Kenseth said. “It’s one week at a time like always.

“It’s been a great week, and we’ve had a great couple months. We definitely have some momentum built. The guys gave us a rocket today and gave us rockets the last couple months. We’re just going to work hard to try to keep it rolling.”

Harvick, the reigning series champion, has finished second in five of his last six starts at Michigan, and he notched his seventh runner-up result since winning his second race of the season at Phoenix in March.

“We had an up-and-down day, that’s for sure,” Harvick said. “The first half of the race or so (we) really struggled with the handling of the car. The guys did a great job of getting that, and then ran out of gas and came back and didn’t lose a lap and were able to have a good enough handling car to drive back up through there.

“Just really proud of my team and everything that they did. I didn’t have anything for the 20 (Kenseth) today, but for everything that we overcame, it was still a good day.”

Despite starting from the rear of the field, Kyle Busch finished 11th, solidified his position in the top 30 in points and moved closer to a spot in the Chase. Now 29th in the standings, Busch leads 30th-place Justin Allgaier by 18 points and 31st-place Cole Whitt by 23.

A four-time winner since returning from an 11-race injury absence, Busch must be in the top 30 after 26 races to lock up a spot in the Chase.

Clint Bowyer‘s Chase hopes took the hardest hit on Sunday. After running consistently in the top five, Bowyer’s No. 15 Toyota bounced off the outside backstretch wall on Lap 126 — the result of contact with Ryan Newman‘s Chevrolet — and careened into the inside wall.

Bowyer finished 41st and dropped one position in the standings to 15th, 23 points ahead of Aric Almirola in 16th and 26 ahead of Kasey Kahne in 17th. Bowyer currently is in the final Chase-eligible position. If the next three races produce one or more unique winners, however, his Chase spot could be in serious jeopardy.

Posted on by George Winkler

RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Updated Chase Grid


BROOKLYN, Mich. — Austin Dillon raced with the big dogs on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, challenging race winner Matt Kenseth and showing that the No. 3 team has made progress in the past few weeks.
 
In the eight races since the team switched to Slugger Labbe as its crew chief, Dillon has posted three top-10 finishes, including a career-best fourth place in the Pure Michigan 400, where he led the second-most laps (19) to Kenseth.



Dillon emerged from his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS on pit road on a day when temperatures inside the vehicles rose to above 150 degrees, and he asked for a towel to wipe off his face. And despite his reddish hue, the 25-year-old still pumped his fists and gave high-fives to crew.



“Well I had fun,” Dillon said. “We gained a lot of spots starting 43rd and got to fourth where we qualified. Just overcame a lot today. I’m proud of my guys. Slugger made a good call at the beginning. We kind of had made that plan to ride around and save fuel and it worked out for us.”

Despite qualifying fourth on Friday, Dillon had to start from the rear of the field on Sunday because of an engine change. In an effort to gain track position, the No. 3 team did not pit on the Lap 20 competition caution. 



The gamble paid off as Dillon was able to stay up toward the front, and by the time a restart came around on Lap 126 of 200, he was in a position to battle Kenseth for the lead. Kenseth and Dillon had a classic back-and-forth on that lap, but eventually the Joe Gibbs Racing driver pulled away and finished off the win.



Kenseth was asked if he was surprised by the fact the No. 3 car was the one putting up a fight toward the end of the race. 



“I was a little bit,” Kenseth said. “He had a really good restart, and we had a little touch there on (Turn) 4. I was a little frustrated, not with him, he didn’t do anything wrong, but I was a little frustrated because I was like, ‘Man, we got to get away because I got a really good car.’ … It was a challenge to get away from him and you needed to get those five or six car-lengths to get him in that bad air.”



Unfortunately for Dillon, a slow pit stop with 32 laps to go dropped him into fourth place. And despite the career-best finish, Dillon likely needs a win to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. After Michigan, Dillon was 83 points behind Clint Bowyer, who currently holds the 16th and final spot in the Chase.



“We’re showing some speed that’s solid for us the last couple weeks to be able to compete if we were in the Chase,” Dillon said. “That’s nice to know. For me, I just wish we could have started this just a little bit earlier.”



Dillon still has three more chances to capture that elusive win, which would be his first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. And the next stop on the schedule, Bristol Motor Speedway, is somewhere Dillon had some success with a top-10 finish earlier this season.



”Really looking forward to Bristol,” Dillon said. “We ran third there with four to go and ran out of fuel. So if we can go to Bristol and compete, I think we can win there. I’m definitely looking forward to that race.”



And it wouldn’t hurt if Dillon got another key call from a crew chief that has helped him during the turnaround.



”He’s been awesome, man,” Dillon said about Labbe. “I feel like I can compete in this series, and he’s given me my confidence back. And it has been nice to work with him.”

Posted on by George Winkler

RELATED: Kenseth wins at Michigan | Chase Grid standings

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski had to repeat pre-race inspection after their splitters didn’t pass the first time through before Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

NASCAR announced it asked the teams to switch splitters and that the original splitters would be taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for inspection early next week.

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell discussed that decision on Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive.”

“On the 2 (of Keselowski) and the 22 (of Logano), in that case, they’re so close on all the splitters and we thought the issue that we looked at was really close to the spec that we have so in that case we elected to take both of those, bring them back to the R&D Center and just take a closer look.

“I don’t think we’ll find anything in this case. It was just one of those areas of a car that, like we do from time to time, we take a look at. See what we may be able to learn if there’s anything there, and then have dialogue with the team and the industry if we do see anything. But more of a procedural thing on our end this weekend when it comes to the 2 and 22.”

Neither driver lost their qualifying spot due to the change in splitters. Logano qualified 10th while Keselowski was 14th. Logano finished seventh, while Keselowski finished ninth in the Pure Michigan 400.

“We do everything to our race cars,” Todd Gordon, crew chief of the No. 22, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Sunday before the race. “We clean everything up. We don’t bring nasty, dirty race cars through inspection. We clean everything we can and make it as close to what we left the shop with. We cleaned it up, and we replaced it.”

Logano won last week’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International, his second victory of the season, and he is now fifth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with four races to go until the postseason.

Keselowski, who has never won at his home track in Michigan, has one victory this season and is ninth in the Chase standings.

Posted on by Brad Norman

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings | Chase Grid

 

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Luck wasn’t with Clint Bowyer‘s No. 15 Toyota at Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway — at least not good luck.

“(Expletive.) Just about my luck,” Bowyer said after the Michael Waltrip Racing driver got the worst of a snarled restart on Lap 126.

Carl Edwards spun his wheels, causing slowing on the restart after a debris caution. Part of the reaction to that was Ryan Newman‘s No. 31 Chevrolet making slight contact with the No. 15, sending Bowyer’s speedy ride up into the outside wall then back across the track and hard backward into the pit road wall.

At that point, Bowyer had led a lap and was in the top five most of the day.

Told that Newman didn’t mean to hit him, Bowyer responded, “I know. The 2 (of Brad Keselowski) came up loose and out of control; I had to move up. It wasn’t (Newman’s) fault. … (Expletive) stupid.”

The rear suspension took a hard hit, sending the car to the garage, where the No. 15 team worked on bent control arms and a tough-to-repair right-side suspension.

“Man, I’m sorry guys. I couldn’t save it. Good track for us,” Bowyer radioed to his team as he kept coming back to pit road to try to fix a troublesome right front that was causing tire rubs.

  

Bowyer began the day 16th out of 16 drivers in the Chase Grid, 50 points ahead of Aric Almirola. That cushion quickly evaporated and shrunk to 23 when the race concluded with Bowyer in 41st place.

“We ain’t quitting now. We have three races to go,” Bowyer said after he was given the option to retire from the race at Lap 183 because the team had no opportunity to gain any more positions with just 17 laps to go.